Tom Bloch: Stand for the Best

The Kansas City Public Library hosts the national launch of Tom Bloch's new book, Stand for the Best, on Thursday, August 28, at 6:30 p.m. in the Truman Forum at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

Stand for the Best: What I Learned after Leaving My Job as CEO of H&R Block to Become a Teacher and Founder of an Inner-City Charter School tells the story of how Bloch transitioned from successful businessman to teacher to co-founder of a respected Kansas City charter school, University Academy.

"In early 1995, quite deliberately, I stepped down as CEO of H&R Block, where I was making nearly a million dollars a year," Bloch writes in his introduction. "I had decided on a higher calling: teaching math to inner-city kids. This is the story of how that decision changed my life and the lives of the kids I tried to help."